The Epic of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
by Shinobi-dono
Summary: He'd taken the lead once before, sure, but how in Odin's name was he supposed to lead an island of Vikings and Dragons?


**Shinobi-dono: Heya there! After writing my first one-shot, I figured I might try my hand at a longer story. I don't want to make this story too long, but I thought it would be cool to write something out. It's gonna be an adventure story starring Hiccup, of course, alongside Toothless, Astrid and the others. But enough of me - please, read and review!**

* * *

><p>"Of all things-!"<p>

"C-Cap'n!"

"Those no-good, uncouth-!"

'Cap'n!"

"To think that they could befriend _dragons!_"

"_Cap'n!_"

_Smack._

"… I needed that," the "Cap'n" admitted flatly, rubbing the sore spot at the back of his head. The two stood alone within the Captain's quarters, where everything was most certainly not fine. An axe was embedded in the desk, sheets and pages were scattered all across the floor, the fine tapestries and treasures on display on the walls were torn or thrown about haphazardly in a frenzy. At the center of it all was a slender, tall man with crazed, short, brown hair and a look on his face that not seconds before looked ready to crack like a mirror.

His clothing was practical rather than regal, but still it seemed to befit his status as the Captain of the vessel. A long, brown fur coat reaching as far down as his knees, a worn, grey tunic and black trousers covered him. A single brown boot covered his left foot, but the right one ended halfway down the calf – instead of a foot, he possessed a peg-leg. Over the shoulders of his coat seemed to be metallic pauldrons, whilst upon his head rested a horned helmet – formerly it possessed two horns, but one had long since been ripped off.

"We're all… Er, worried, Cap'n," his second-in-command spoke. He was a far broader man and, if one looked closely, a slightly taller one. His chin bore a blonde yet graying beard and his face was worn from years of battle yet still went strong. A crooked nose and an eye beyond repair distinguished him. Dark furs coated him, yet formed more of a sleeveless waistcoat than the Captain's. Otherwise, he dressed in a tunic and thick boots. "Ye haven' come outta yer room in a week. You'd prob'ly have starved if we didn' toss food in every mornin' and nigh'".

The Captain was still frozen in position, silent. Then he slowly turned his head, slightly cocked to the side with wide eyes that didn't seem to blink. He hated it when the Captain did this. Suddenly, the Captain grasped hold of him by the furs and shook him madly, the frantic expression back on his face.

"This can't be happening, Stormhard! This can't be happening! Years! Plans! All wasted! How did they get ahold of _Dragons?_" the Captain shrieked at his second-in-command. The older man gave him a blank stare.

"Do ya need another smack, Cap'n?".

"… Yes, please".

_SMACK._

"Okay, okay… They have dragons… They're Vikings… Vikings… On dragons… Oh Thor, everything's ruined! Do you know how long I've been waiting for them to wear themselves weak fighting dragons?".

"Yer whole life, Cap'n".

"Yes! But now, _now,_ they've not only ended their bloody war, they've _tamed_ the damn beasts! How am I supposed to do anything now?" he exclaimed, slowly picking himself back up off the floor.

"… Well, Cap'n… Yer pretty smart… Isn't there some kinda… Plan you could use?" Stormhard suggested. The Captain paused. Unlike before, where he had been staring at Stormhard with wide eyes, he now stared at a spot on the floor whilst he had half-risen from it. Stormhard knew that look in his eye – it was the look of someone so preoccupied with thinking they forgot to do other basic things first. Getting up off the ground could wait for eternity while this man thought.

"… Stormhard, I've been thinking".

"So I see".

"What if…" he began, turning to look back up at his second-in-command with a wide grin. "What if we evened the odds?".

* * *

><p>Hiccup dragged a basket filled with fish around the house. The icy footing had never bothered him when attempting any sort of task, but that had been before his left foot had been replaced with wood and metal prosthetics. He'd spend every other step making sure he didn't just slip on the ice with his replacement limb whilst he dragged the basket of fish, but all in all he'd gotten better at it. At least compared with the first month or so, which consisted of little more than slipping and falling everywhere. By around Snoggletog last month he'd felt he'd gotten the hang of it, somewhat.<p>

Pulling the basket of fish outside, he wiped the sweat from his brow with a sigh of relief before looking out. From the hilltop, he'd always been able to see the whole village. Now, now it was covered in frost and snow, like a white blanket. He was no stranger to the harsh snowstorms Berk could see each year, but nonetheless it was something they were all used to. He smiled as he watched the people wandering across town, going about their business with no mind to the winter. The winter didn't stop for them, so why bother stopping for the winter?

"Well, better go feed Toothless," he muttered, smiling as he turned to walk around the house. "Toothless-!".

He didn't get even a step before his prosthetic slipped on the ice and the scrawny young teen fell backwards, slamming hard into the ice. He winced for a second as a black, scaly creature jumped down from the roof, landing on the ice beside him. The Night Fury cast him a curious look before looking over to the basket of fish and deciding that his priorities were in having breakfast. Hiccup frowned.

"Thank you bud. You're such a great friend. Really," he remarked as he slowly pushed himself back up, watching the dragon turn back and finish swallowing his fish just in time to crack a cheesy grin. Or at least as cheesy a grin as a dragon could manage. Still, there was no real harm done and Hiccup got to his foot and prosthetic without too much effort. This was hardly the first time he'd slipped on the ice, unfortunately.

"Once you're finished we can go flying again. There's a couple tricks I want to try out," Hiccup told him. Toothless seemed to understand, because he seemed to suddenly quicken the pace with which he ate through the basket of fish. Of course, he always understood the Viking. Hiccup smirked. "Easy there, wouldn't want you to get indigestion or anything".

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" a voice boomed out from within the house. Curious, Hiccup looked back with a raised brow as a hulking, bearded man stepped out the front door of the house and turned to look towards Hiccup with a wide smile.

"Ah, Hiccup! Just the lad I needed to see!" his father declared with an excited glint in his eyes. Already Hiccup was panicking.

"You needed to see me?" Hiccup repeated, his brow raised even higher in confusion.

"But of course!" the great, bearded chief spoke. "I've got some great news that I'm sure you're going to like!".

Okay, forget before. _Now_ was the time to panic.

"Don't tell me you've engaged me to someone," Hiccup responded with worry in his eyes. His father laughed boisterously.

"Oh no no, not yet anyways!".

"You're sending me on a hunting trip?".

"Nope!".

"... Then… What is this great news…?" Hiccup asked, wary. He wouldn't deny that, ever since the battle against the Green Death things had been getting better with his father. They didn't really fight and they definitely held no problems with one another. On the other hand, that didn't exactly mean they got each other. Both would still draw complete blanks when they tried to talk with one another, and both generally completely misunderstood what the other was thinking at all times. Trying to read his father's mind was like trying to read a book that had been put in a treasure chest, dropped to the bottom of the ocean and then crushed beneath the carcass of a hammerhead whale (Of course, he was still suspicious of whether or not Gobber had been telling the truth about their existence).

"You're going to love this!" Stoick spoke, grinning like a madman. Hiccup paled before he even heard the news. "You are going to begin training to be the next chieftan of Berk!".

"… What," Hiccup asked flatly, staring up at his father. Training. Next. Chieftan. Berk. He knew, from a young age, that he was the son of the chieftan. But it seemed it was only dawning on him now, in the mere second since he'd been speaking to his father, that this meant he was rightfully going to inherit that position. As if becoming chieftan of Berk was something that happened to other people.

"I'm going to become the next chieftan of Berk? B-But I'm-! And the others-! Am I really the best choice for something like this?" Hiccup reacted with complete panic. Usually he could handle things with that deadpan snark of his that distinguished him from the adults, but no amount of snark or sarcasm was going to help him cope with this kind of surprise dropped upon him by his father.

"Ah, don't be so worried about it – You led the other Vikings against the Green Death! You'd be a prime fit!" his father told him, patting him on the shoulder with a little more force than he realized, causing Hiccup to nearly buckle over with each pat.

"That was just my class, not the whole village!" Hiccup protested as soon as his father stopped patting him on the shoulder.

"You ended the war between the Vikings and the Dragons!" Stoick complimented him.

"I'm fifteen!" Hiccup objected.

"Don't be modest – when I was your age, my dad made sure I was ready to take over for him too!" his father pointed out.

"You popped the head off a dragon when you were a baby," Hiccup deadpanned.

"Well, I don't mean to brag…" Stoick scratched the back of his head with reddened cheeks.

"This is going to end oh, so well," Hiccup remarked with a defeated look on his face. His father seemed to completely misinterpret him.

"Now that's the spirit lad! Just you wait – I'll be showing you all the gatherings, all of the customs – why, I bet in no time at all you'll be ready to take my spot!" Stoick smiled warmly at his son. Rustling his son's hair, he bent down just a little to bring them eye to eye. "You've made me proud, Hiccup. I'm certain you can do it".

Hiccup froze, staring into his father's eyes.

"… Well, I'm off. Have some work to be doing. Enjoy your… Flight!" his father remarked, standing up as he began to walk off, still waving to his son and the dragon devouring all of the fish. By the time his father had vanished down the hill into the town, Hiccup finally spoke.

"Did he just say he was proud of me?" Hiccup asked, turning to look at Toothless. Toothless looked up and cocked his head to the side. He'd never seen such a speechless look on his best friend's face before.

* * *

><p><strong>Shinobi-dono: Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please, feel free to share!<strong>

**And for those curious, the Capain and his First Mate in the first scene are original characters. I've seen other stories make mention of a Pirate character named Alvin in them, but I have not read the original novels so I shall not be making reference to characters such as him. In addition, if people want to use my characters, you have to ask me (Though I doubt any of you are that interested from just the opening scene).**


End file.
